The novelization of "Relics" significantly expanded on his character, revealing that Darrin Kane was having personal problems and was being hounded by Commander Riker due to poor performance and showing up late for duty shifts. Kane also went on an away mission to the surface of the Dyson sphere where, in a fit on insanity, he began firing his phaser at various structures. However, at the conclusion of the crisis, he accepts responsibility for his actions and resolves to improve, making a first step when he suggests that Captain Scott receive the shuttle he was examining. The episode also mentions that Picard had been a Starfleet Academy classmate of Kane's father, Ferris Kane, who had recently retired from Starfleet, and that Picard had known the younger Kane since he was a boy.